2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S: First Ride Review

The most advanced Ducati ever! 

This significantly updated 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S is lighter, more powerful and garnished with more technical wizardry than ever before to make it the most advanced road-going Ducati ever. Ducati’s target goals for the V4 S were to improve lap times, reduce the riding effort and to allow the new bike to boost the skill of the rider effectively.

What is new about 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S?

The big talking point for many is the introduction of a double-sided swingarm, which takes over from the much-loved single-sider and follows instead the design of Ducati’s dominant MotoGP GP24 bike in a bid to manage ever-increasing levels of power and grip. Despite having a double arm, it’s lighter (by 2.7kg) and has 37% less lateral rigidity. In the flesh, it looks pleasingly elegant, too.

A redesigned ‘front frame’ has also had its lateral stiffness reduced by a comparable 40%, while suspension features the very latest Smart EC 3.0 electronic TTX36 (front) and NPX 25/30 (rear) units from Öhlins.

The familiar 1103cc Desmosedici Stradale V4 with counter-rotating crank gets a little more power to keep the headline writers happy (the older machine was hardly lacking), all-new Brembo Hypure calipers make a first-time appearance, there’s more aerodynamic detailing and styling which gives a certain legendary Ducati 916-look to the silhouette and a reconfigured riding position that includes more inboard pegs and a longer and wider seat. 

The tech

The second big talking point, however, is the new electronic package, especially the Ducati Vehicle Observer (DVO), which features an algorithm developed by the Ducati Corse MotoGP technicians that precisely estimates and optimizes multiple rider-aids as well as the race eCBS combined lean-sensitive braking system, which in basic terms helps you brake like a MotoGP rider.  

Test conditions at Vallelunga just outside Rome were perfect, and with a Ducati Corse technician on standby, Pirelli slicks, and six long sessions available, a thorough and fast test of the new Panigale V4 S was very much on the cards.

2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S at the track

The most obvious improvement over the older bike was its improved stability. The V4 S I rode in 2022 was planted enough but around Vallelunga, especially through a fourth-gear and fearsomely fast and committed kink, would gently weave or move the bars to indicate you were towards the limit, forcing me to short-shift through this section. The 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S, however, was much more predictable, and even in the first session, I had more confidence to make full use of the power. This newfound stability might be down to extra flex in the frame and longer swingarm, or the new electronics, or a combination of everything, but from lap three the difference between the old and new bike was obvious.

Rider aids are inspiring; the lap ends with tight, twisty second-gear corners and late apexes, followed by hard acceleration with risky lean angles. But the new rider aids handle everything, allowing aggressive throttle use. The throttle response is nearly perfect, and you can apply power quickly while relying on the aids. I don’t think I’ve ever exited corners so hard and early.

On occasion, I could feel the torque reduce as a slide or wheelspin were corrected, especially when exiting first and second-gear corners hard on the throttle. It’s amazing what you can get away with and how unfazed and planted the Ducati remains.

Stopping is now managed by new Brembo Hypure calipers, and also the new Race eCBS combined ABS system. There are seven levels of ABS, with level 1 the dedicated Race eCBS. This new system combines the front and rear brakes so that even when you release the front brake and arrive at a corner apex, it continues to trail the rear brake, without any rider intervention. With DVO ensuring it won’t lock or slide the rear wheel while working out the fastest, safest braking strategy for the corner, you can, in theory, at least, steer and lean to the apex. According to Ducati, a trailing rear brake tightens the line and adds stability mid-corner and, most important of all, makes you feel like Ducati Corse’s double world champion Pecco Bagnaia.  

The older Panigale was impressive on the brakes, but the combination of the Brembo Hypure stoppers and new technology is a hugely potent package. You can take real liberties on the brakes: brake so late it’s physically painful; brake so late and with so much power up to the apex it’s almost hard to comprehend and calculate.

Towards the end of the day, I was desperate to forget the lap timer for a while and simply enjoy the 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S and have some elbow-dragging fun, which is what the Ducati does so well. Yes, you can chase lap times, but as it’s now so much easier to ride fast you can also maintain both a pace and safety margin higher than you thought possible while still having trackday fun. 

The astonishing level of grip from the chassis, rider aids and big slick Pirelli rubber allows crazy lean angles. If you ever want to get your elbow down – this is the bike to try it on. The chassis feedback is forensic. You feel in tune with the chassis, understand completely the Pirelli rubber and elevate your riding too. Sometimes electronic suspension can dilute the connection with the bike, but this is not the case on new Panigale.

Verdict 

Ducati has made significant progress. The 2025 Ducati Panigale V4 S is more stable and planted and therefore easier to ride. Where the older bike occasionally asked you to use calming short shifts, particularly on the exits of fast, hanging sweepers, the new one asks for full gas and every one of its Italian horses in all the corners and does so without hesitation. This makes the bike faster and cuts faster lap times. 

Secondly, the advancement in rider aids and braking technology is truly breathtaking. Never has a Ducati superbike been this easy to ride consistently and safely. You can take outrageous liberties and rely on the rider aids, which takes a conscious re-configuration of your riding because the new Panigale allows you to do things on a motorcycle you really shouldn’t. It flatters the rider, improves lap times and in turn makes riding on track more enjoyable. In short, it makes you faster. 

We don’t know what the new Panigale will be like on the road, and all this new technology comes at a price that now puts the V4 S close to £30,000 in the UK and $34,000 in the US.

But if I were the competition, I’d be worried. Ducati has taken race-winning MotoGP and WSBK know-how and technology and transferred it to their road-going superbike so we can all feel like an elite racer. It is stunning.

Images: Alex Photo

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